Chinese Labor Activist Runs Radio Protest
Carrie Lee
Reuters
28 December 2004
Chinese labor activist Han Dongfang mounted a daring protest during the ill-fated Tiananmen Square democracy movement in 1989, helping form a short-lived free trades union.
Today, from exile in Hong Kong, he is one of just a handful of dissidents putting pressure on Beijing over human rights.
With his call-in radio shows that can be heard in many parts of the region, Han breaks news on the abuse of workers, farmers and others in China.
He unveils dirty dealings that lead to scores of deaths in coal mines and riots, which are rampant in China but are under-reported by the state.
"I want to uncover the truth," Han, 41, told Reuters in an interview in his broadcasting studio.
"China is having huge problems," he said about rights abuses. "They need a way out. They need a solution. Before that, they need to know the truth. That's the first step to finding a solution."
Victims of accidents or abuse on the mainland call Han to pour out their woes, to say how unfairly or inhumanely they have been treated. He then verifies the stories with other sources, including officials and witnesses.
"I want to bring the voice of the people out," said Han.
After a disaster report, he calls the victims himself to get their side of the story, airing the taped conversations. He often finds that the casualties are the result of abuse.
WORKED TO DEATH
"For example, the miners were not allowed to take rests," he said, referring to a gas explosion last month that killed 166 people in a coal mine in the northern province of Shaanxi. It was one of the worst disasters to hit the world's biggest mining industry.
"Even when the fire was already burning, some miners asked the management if they could go. The managers said: 'Okay, if you go, you're fired.' That's why the poor miners wouldn't leave. And so many people then lost their lives," he said.
"In China, workers are not represented. That's why disasters keep happening," Han said.
On the mainland, workers are forbidden to organize unions and all unions that do exist are state-sanctioned.
In his thrice-weekly programs on American-funded Radio Free Asia, estimated to reach a Chinese audience of 20 million, Han advises workers on how to protect their legal rights.
"If more miners listen to my programs, they will do something before accidents happen, before they die," Han said.
He spends much time studying the law to guide callers to the correct regulations for their protection. He briefs academics and politicians about abuse of rights in China.
"People want to know more from my programs, how to protect themselves, the legal procedures," said Han. "I want to get more people to believe in taking legal action, to know how to help themselves ... instead of letting other people save you."
He believes he has made China more transparent about industrial accidents by making officials realize it is impossible to try to cover them up.
"I began to report those coal mine accidents four to five years ago. At that time, there were no such reports at all from the government," he recalled.
FORMER PROTEST LEADER
A trained electrician, Han was one of the leaders of the first independent labor union in communist China, formed in the full glare of international media at the height of the Tiananmen Square movement in May 1989.
That union, known as the Beijing Workers Autonomous Federation, was deemed illegal by the government.
"During my election as a committee member of the union, I promised voters that if one day I had to go to prison I would walk there myself," Han said.
That is why he surrendered to police when he knew he was on the wanted list after troops with tanks crushed the Tiananmen protests on the night of June 3/4, killing hundreds.
He spent 22 months in jail. In 1993, on his return to China after undergoing surgery in the United States, security officials immediately expelled him to Hong Kong.
Han repeatedly tried to go home but in vain. "Then I thought it wouldn't make much sense to try again. I had no time to waste."
With funds from trade unions in the West, he set up a Hong Kong-based watchdog in 1994 that tracks and reports worker unrest in China, and helps victims.
He began hosting radio shows in 1997.
Han finds Hong Kong convenient as a base to fight for Chinese workers' rights. "There's no time difference. And it's geographically in the country.
"I always thank God. The Chinese government just put me in Hong Kong. They could have sent me anywhere else. But they put me in Hong Kong. It's God's will!" he said.
Does he feel Chinese security authorities have him under surveillance? "I don't know and I don't want to know," Han said.